WMFE is Central Florida's primary provider of NPR programming on 90.7 FM and Classical Music on 90.7 HD2. Part of the community since 1965, WMFE focuses on providing quality national and local news and programming. We inspire and empower all Central Floridians to discover, grow and engage within and beyond their world.

Not right now, but soon. There’s a lot of work that goes into sending humans to a completely different world. Engineering new spacecraft, and new space suits. We’ve gotta figure out if humans can live and work in space for a deep space journey. And how do you feed them? Are they going to go crazy on the trip?

And what can we expect when we get there? What’s the surface of Mars like? Can we live and work there?

But before we look to space, before we leave the atmospheres, and before we head to Mars, let’s start at a place a little more familiar to us. Hollywood.

The Oscar-nominated blockbuster movie “The Martian” follows stranded Mars astronaut Mark Watney, played by Matt Damon. Most of the technology in the movie is stuff NASA and other agencies use for deep space and planetary exploration.

“The Martian” is based on the novel with the same name, written by Andy Weir. He joins the program to talk about his inspiration for the book and his thoughts on planetary exploration.

Space Reporter and 'Intersection' Producer

Brendan covers the space beat for WMFE, reporting on rocket launches from Florida's Space Coast to the latest scientific discoveries in our universe. He host's WMFE's space exploration podcast "Are We There Yet?"
He also helps produce WMFE's twice-weekly public affairs show "Intersection," working with host ... Read Full Bio »